Sisters Three
by Ygritte the Huntress
Summary: What if Paige was a Summers instead of a Mathews?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but this particular slant on the story.

**Chapter 1:** May 12, 1980

* * *

Sister Anne, of the parish of St. Clemens in San Francisco, knew what she was going to do with that sweet baby girl before her mother had even kissed her goodbye.

This wasn't the first child to be dropped at the church, and it wouldn't be the last either, but it was the first time it had been done in such a dramatic and memorable fashion. One day she would tell that little girl about the heavenly lights, but until then she would keep it to herself.

The parents seemed to care deeply for the baby. They left a hand stitched blanket, a note for her new family and even rough handwritten medical history of the mother's immediate family. They had kept her for 2 days, making a memory to hold on to. They asked that she be given a name that started with a P, kissed her forehead, and were gone.

It had only taken a few hours to arrange a new family for the baby. The archdiocese was used to handling these things, and the couple was thrilled. The next day she would be going home with a new family. To a new life.

The couple was Anne's brother and his wife. They were not terribly religious, but the had faith and came to mass at least once a month. They had decided to adopt the year before, but the mother changed her mind. They could have children of their own, and planned to, but Joy felt strongly that they should give a home to a child in need first. They had been foster parents for a while, but the nature of the system soured them quickly and the turned to private means instead. It was stroke of luck, really, that Anne had been the one present that day, and that she knew of a family already. It was generally a much harder process to find a home for those children in the church community. As it was that was being stretched, seeing as the family would be moving to LA in the next few months. Technically the Mathews couple was at the top of the list for adoption within the church, but Anne had some pull, and she used it on her brother and sister-in-law's behalf.

Hank and Joyce had been overjoyed when given the opportunity to take the baby. It was very short notice, but they were willing to make the sacrifices required. They came in that evening with a car load of baby supplies. They took her home and started converting their spare room into a nursery. The next 

day the preliminary paperwork was signed, and Alyssa Paige Summers officially became the daughter of Hank and Joyce Summers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:** July 10, 1980

* * *

Joyce smiled as she rocked her baby girl to sleep. Today Alyssa had turned 2 months old. It was only 3 days until that same anniversary of her being officially theirs. There was still 4 months until it was finalized, but both Joyce and Hand were confident that it would go smoothly.

The couple had never been happier that they were now. Where sudden parenthood might have strained them, it had made them stronger. They basked in their sweet, happy baby. Hank came home an hour earlier so that he could spend one on one time with Alyssa. Putting her to bed was a special time for them. They took turns rocking and putting her down each night, bonding with her.

She smiled as she laid her daughter down and covered her with the soft blanket.

As Joyce pulled the bedroom door close to shut she frowned slightly. Alyssa had been an unexpected change that had made their lives fuller. She worried that another change son soon may break the spell.

"Honey" Joyce said as she watched her husband get ready for bed.

"Yeah"

"I'm pregnant"

Hank stilled and turned to his wife in shock. "Are you sure? We've been careful since we got Alyssa. I know you haven't been on the pill, but…" He wasn't unhappy, just shocked.

Joyce nodded. "I had an appointment today to go back on the pill, since we weren't going to try for another baby until Alyssa was older. Anyway, one of the standard tests they do before they give it to you is a pregnancy test. I was pretty surprised since I haven't felt any different at all."

Hank sat down next to her on the bed. "How far along are you?"

Joyce laughed. "Well, just over 2 months. We started being careful too late."

Hank smiled and Kissed his wife. "Well, hey, the nursery is already finished, and we have tons of baby clothes to reuse."

Joyce smiled back. "True. Do you think we can handle this? 2 babies?"

Hank hugged her close and rubbed her back soothingly. "We can handle anything."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: January 29, 1983

Elizabeth Anne Summers – or Buffy – came into the world a lot quieter than anyone would have guessed. It was a quiet labor with plenty of drugs and a calm and collected coach. Anne had come down to LA to help for a few weeks, so she had stayed home with 8 month old Alyssa. Hank hadn't really warmed to the nickname that his wife had insisted on, but he was able to wheedle the right to name their next child out of it, so he was content.

Both parents were just as taken with Buffy as they had been with Alyssa before her. They spent hours watching the way she breathed and gurgled. When they took her home they laid her down in Alyssa's crib and watched the way their older daughter tried to understand the newcomer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:** April 18, 1985

* * *

Dawn Marie Summers' birth was a terrifying surprise. Joyce had been driving Alyssa and Buffy to preschool when she suddenly went into violent premature labor. It had been all she could do to pull the car over and get someone to dial 911 for her. The girls had been crying and nearly hysterical by the time Hank had arrived at the hospital. Joyce had needed an emergency C section and hank had not been able to be with her, since he was with their 4 year old daughters, trying to calm them down.

By the time a friend had come and taken the girls to pick up Joyce's car and wait at home for news, Hank was a mess. This pregnancy had been a dream compared to the first. Even without the added stress of an infant, things hd been a trial then. Illness, blood pressure issues, excessive weight gain, several false labor incidents, had all marked Buffy's entry into the world. When Joyce had gotten pregnant a second time they had been worried, but things had gone perfectly for nearly 7 months.

While hand waited he called the family to tell them what was going on. It didn't take long, since the whole family was Anne, his dad Bill, and Joyce's mom Nita. He was just hanging up with his dad when a nurse approached him.

Despite the terrifying circumstances, everything was fine. Joyce had come through well and was resting comfortably, and their third daughter was scarily healthy. Though only 6 and half pounds, she seemed to have escaped the health problems that tended to come with premature birth.

Hank gave a prayer of thanks to every spirit and saint he could think of and started calling again, this time with the good news of Dawn's arrival. The name had been chosen weeks earlier by hank himself, and he thought it particularly fitting for his new little ray of sunshine when he held her for the first time later that day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:** September 17, 1989

* * *

Joyce was folding laundry in the dining room when Alyssa came running in from her dance class. She was about to get on to her for slamming the door when she heard Hank coming in behind the girl with firm words on his lips. She smiled and went back to folding, humming along absently to the music pouring out of Dawn's room down the hall. She never would get why a 5 year old was so obsessed with Boyz 2 Men.

"Hi mom." said the bubbly brunette as she plopped down on a chair across the table.

"Hey baby. How was your first dance class?" both Alyssa and Buffy were starting after school activities today, and Alyssa was the first one home. Joyce pushed a pile of towels torward her daughter as she waited for an answer.

"It was kinda annoying at first, but then I changed my name and it was great after that."

Joyce cocked her head to the side and motioned for Alyssa to continue.

"Well," she started as she started on her stack of towels, "in my class there are 2 other girls named Alyssa. The teacher was confusing us for like 20 minutes. Alyssa Chang goes by Allie anyway, so no biggie, but Alyssa Marshal said that nicknames were 'childish and demeaning'. Miss Willis was going to call me by my last name, but there is a girl named Summer too, so I said that she should use my middle name instead. I like it. I think that I'm going to have everyone call me Paige from now on. Plus, if I ever meet my older sister, I'll already fit in."

Joyce stopped short at Alyssa's words. The issue of common names wasn't much of a surprise, and the reasoning to use her middle name at school and dance class made sense. It wasn't' the first time it had come up. But the last part was off putting.

Alyssa's adoption was a big part of their family. They had a special dinner every November 18th to celebrate the finalization, and they told it as a bedtime story to all the girls. It was far from a secret, but they didn't talk about her Alyssa's birth family much. They did know a lot more about them than anyone would think, though.

A few month after Buffy had been born Anne had seen an article in the paper about the woman's death. She had never forgotten the face of the seemingly angelic woman and had called her brother immediately. Hank had hired someone to look into the Halliwells, so that Alyssa would know where she came from. They had been shocked to find that she was a divorced mother of 3 living with her own mother. Although the request for a P name made a lot more sense when they saw that it was a family trend. The kept all the information so that when Alyssa had started asking questions about it, they had answers. They couldn't tell her anything about her biological father, but she seemed happy with what they did know and generally didn't talk much about it. That's why the mention of her elder sisters was so jarring. Apparently she thought about it more than she let on.

Eventually Joyce said, "Paige huh? I don't know if I could get used to that."

Alyssa frowned. "What about Buffy? It's only fair I get a nickname too."

Joyce smiled. "Paige it is then. But don't expect me to remember when you're in trouble. I can't remember with Buffy, and I picked her nickname when she was born."

"Why did you name me Alyssa Paige anyway? Why not just give me the P in the first name, or not at all. I mean, you didn't have to."

Joyce thought for a moment before answering. "You're my baby, and I didn't want to let a stranger make that decision for us. But you're a gift too, and I wanted to honor that gift. So I compromised. Your dad picked your middle name though"

Alyssa smiled and went back to telling her mom all about her new class and friends.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Paige's powers began to show when she was 12. At first it was just things she wanted appearing at hand in swirling lights. It made cleaning her side of her and Buffy's room a snap when she realized she could send things that way too. At 14 she learned to beam herself places. She had a fit when her dad teased that she wouldn't need a car now.

On Dawn's 10th birthday, Buffy dropped a plate of waffles on the floor, and sliced her hand when she tried to clean it up. That's when Paige learned that she could heal. It was draining, and she could only heal small things, but it was another facet to her powers.

Paige had been worried at first that her family would hate her for her oddness, but they took it in stride. They supported her and helped her to control her power. And despite his teasing, her father instilled in her the need for caution. While they loved her and would protect her, others may not, so her powers were for emergencies and at home only.

A few months later the family got another surprise when a man named Jason Quintos showed up at their front door.

* * *

"Somebody get the door!!" Paige yelled from her room as the doorbell rang for the third time. She was trying to do her homework, and the sound was annoying her, even through the racket of her stereo. God, she hated summer school. She hated her Algebra teacher more though. Who gives homework during summer school? What a prick.

She glanced out the window and noticed that her whole family was out in the backyard. That explained the doorbell, she supposed. She sighed and went to answer the door. If it was a Jehovah's Witness… they were going on a nice little trip to South America. Religious missionaries definitely counted as a beaming worthy emergency as far as she was concerned.

When she opened the door she was not surprised to see a tall earnest looking man in what her mother called Business Causal dress, holding a book and some pamphlets.

Paige rolled her eyes. "We're very happy Catholics, so you can move on to the next house."

As she tried to close the door the man poked his head in a bit. "I'm not a missionary. I'm looking for Dawn Summers and her parents. It's about her education."

Paige let out an irritated breath and ushered the man inside. Of course he was here about Dawn. Stupid, brilliant Dawn. If things kept moving the way they were, Dawn would graduate before she and Buffy did. Not that she really held a grudge, much. Here she was barely managing, and her sisters were doing so annoyingly well. Buffy was an honor roll student going into high school with a spot on the cheerleading squad. Dawn was a scary genius who had skipped ahead of her year 3 times already. She was a 10 year old moving into the 8th grade, just a year behind her sisters. What was worse was that by all rights Paige should be going into her sophomore year, except that her grades had dropped so badly in the 5th grade that she had been held back, and now she was stuck in the same grade as Buffy.

She shook her head to clear all the angsty crap and went out back to fetch her parents.

"Mom, Dad, there is some guy here. He wants to talk about Dawn's school."

Without another word Paige stormed back to her room and went back to her homework. When she finally finished, about 15 minutes later, she made her way into the dining room, where Buffy was eavesdropping on the conversation in the living room.

"They're talking about magic. A school that TEACHES magic." Buffy whispered urgently to her sister when she reached her.

"What?" Paige asked, shocked. What did magic have to do with Dawn?

"That guy, Jason I think, he said there is a list. And when a kid does something cool and magical when they are young, their name goes on the list. If you get on the list, you get to go to magic school."

"What about me? I'm the only one that has ever done anything magical."

Buffy shrugged. "Dunno, I think dad's gonna ask though. He keeps getting that look. The one where he wants to say something, but doesn't want to be rude."

Paige looked at her youngest sister, who was sitting quietly in the living room. Dawn was not generally a quiet kid. She liked to talk and be heard on any and every subject, but she was sitting very still and quietly now. The idea that she didn't have something to say about going to a school for magic was ridiculous to her sisters. That meant that she was thinking very hard about what she SHOULD say.

After a moment Hank finally broke. "Are you sure you're here about Dawn? I've never seen anything out of the ordinary around her, except for her intelligence. Paige is the one with weird … "he waved his hands and searched for a word. "..stuff going on."

Jason looked in his big book for a moment and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry Mr. Summers, no mistake. Many people think that their children are special, but – "

He stopped midsentence as his book disappeared from his hands in a swirl of lights, only to reenter the room in the hands of Paige, who was reading a page intently as she made her way to him.

"How –" he started, but was again cut off, this time by Paige herself.

"Cool, it even says when the magic happened and what it was. Dawn – Oh My God!! That was you?"

Dawn just looked at her questioningly so Paige showed her the book. Seconds later Dawn was blushing furiously and trying not to laugh. That got Buffy running in to see for herself.

"Wow" Buffy said. "Mom, Dawn made this kid that was picking on her in class's locker explode with Barbie dolls and glitter. That was the coolest thing that happened all year. Everyone wants to know who did it and how. He was so pissed."

Joyce scolded Buffy for her language and Hank beamed at his youngest daughter, but Paige wasn't paying attention anymore, she had a hunch and she was using the book to look into it. It was a thick book, and the list seemed to be in alphabetical order, but the list seemed too short to take up the whole thing. Then she noticed that it was divided into school years. That made sense, she supposed, so she started looking back through until she found the year that her powers had appeared. No Alyssa Summers. She was disappointed for a moment, and then she took a shot. Maybe it was listed by birth name. She scanned back until she hit the H's.

"Hey, there's me!"

She shoved the book in Jason's face and pointed to the name right underneath 'Hade, Laura' was 'Halliwell – Wilder, Alyssa (Paige)'

Jason was confused. "I don't understand."

"I'm adopted. My mother was named Halliwell. Although how the name my parents picked for me was right, but the last name was wrong is weird. But look, the magic that it recorded was 'telekinetic teleportation of a care bear from the hands of another to her own', that was the very first time I ever moved something. Buffy was picking on me and taunting me with my bear, and I took it back."

Jason nodded. "I'll definitely look into it. Do you mind if I come back tomorrow and discuss this further? I think both girls would benefit from our school, and I want to see what I can do about getting Paige in as well as Dawn."

Everyone agreed and Jason left to find out about Paige. One of the reasons he put it off was her power. He recognized it, and that was impossible."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Jason was in the records room at the California School for Magic pouring over some books on certain powers when a familiar swirl of lights got his attention. "Oh, Leo, good to see you. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I felt that one of my charges was in distress, so I came right over, and I found him staring at books. What's wrong?"

"I was talking with a potential student's family today when her sister displayed her own magic and pointed out that she had never been approached. Then she showed me her name in the book, where it had been put down a few years ago. I'm trying to figure out why she was never approached. Plus her name seem familiar, and her powers…"

Leo looked over Jason's shoulder to the notes he had written and saw the name 'Paige Halliwell'. "The Halliwell sisters had their powers bound years ago. None of them should be active, and the older two manifested as toddlers."

Jason didn't ask how he knew so much about the family, Leo wouldn't tell him anyway, and whitelighters were guardian angels after all.

"Right, but that name isn't accurate. Her name is Alyssa Paige Summers, and the one in the book is Alyssa (Paige) Halliwell – Wilder. I looked it up. The sisters we have on record are Prudence and Piper Halliwell – Bennett. Plus I found the letter from Penelope Halliwell declining magical education for her granddaughters, Prue, Piper and Phoebe. And this girl's powers, they are like yours, like a whitelighter, the heavenly lights and all. So who exactly is Paige Summers?"

Leo frowned for a moment. "Just let me go speak with the elders and I'll see what I can find out."

* * *

An hour later, as Jason was finishing paperwork to invite Paige to the school, Leo returned with an unhappy look on his face. Whatever he had been told, he didn't like it much.

"Jason, invite her to school. The elders know about her and they think she should be educated properly while we can. There seems to be a great deal riding on the Summers sisters, and they want them helped as much as possible."

Jason raised his eyebrows. He hadn't seen anything particularly special about the family, but again, he wasn't a guardian angel. "Really? Well, we will do our best of course."

"Thank you."

* * *

The next evening found Jason once again sitting in the Summers' living room, explaining the school to the family.

"So, it's more like an after school program?" asked Joyce.

"That's what I recommend for your girls, yes. It's easier for children with non magical siblings that way. There isn't the isolation there would be in a boarding or private school situation. We pride ourselves on providing the healthiest environment possible for learning. We offer all three options, but I think this will suit your family best."

"So, like, while Buffy is off doing her cheerleading and stuff, Dawn and I will be learning magic?" Paige asked in awe.

"Yes, This way you can go to school with all of your friends and Buffy. The children who board are those who come from magical families, it's a tradition in some communities. The day school students are those who manifested as very young children, they start out school with us and continue throughout their education. Not to mention that in order to get anywhere in the non magical world, you need to continue your proper education. A lot of the day school students are homeschooled in math, science and so forth.

All the girls tried to imagine their mom trying to teach them math or science, which she was horrible at. They exchanged looks and burst into fits of giggles.

Joyce rolled her eyes. "Home schooling is not really an option, so after school is good. How will they get to and from, and how much will it cost?"

"Well, there are a couple of options. Either we can set up a portKey, which is an object enspelled to move people and objects from one place to another, or we can use a magic door, which is just a door that appears on command and leads to where you want to go. I personally prefer the door, as portkeys can be disorienting and frankly nauseating. As far as cost, well….."

That was where the girls stopped paying attention. They knew that their parents would work something out. Their education was something that they took very seriously.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Buffy wiped away a fresh tear as she finished packing the last box from her bedroom. The room was now bare of all the things that she and Paige had collected over the years. Everything they owned was packed away in neat boxes, waiting to be moved to the place that would be their new home.

Paige had cleared out hours earlier, slamming the door behind her and retreating to Dawn's room to let her rage fester. Both of Buffy's sisters blamed her for this sudden and unwelcome change in their lives. So did she.

Logically, parts of the situation had nothing to do with her. Her mom's sudden desire to open an art gallery in some small town up the coast was something all the girls had been worried about for over a year. Their dad being pushed out of his job was a fluke of timing. The fact that the town that her parents had bought a house in was the one place on the west coast where Paige and Dawn's magic school couldn't, or wouldn't, have anything to do with wasn't her fault in the least.

But the rest of it pretty much was. She was the reason they had to move. She was the one who had been expelled. She was the one whose actions, and supposed insanity, had destroyed school property and caused her sisters to be suddenly cast out of certain circles.

She sat on the floor with her back against the wall and cried. Everything had been going so well. She was a popular sophomore cheerleader with a spot on the homecoming court and another crown under her belt. She made good grades, had tons of friends, dated all the coolest guys. Dawn was the youngest freshman in Hemery High history and a big fish in the academic crowd. Paige, while never an academic success, was happily immersed in the magical world. She soared in magic circles, a shining star in a place where Dawn was utterly average. And Buffy had been utterly content as the normal one. Not too smart, not struggling, not magical. The perfectly average, normal, stereotypical, LA girl and daughter.

Ok, fine, yes, she envied the specialness about her sisters. Who wouldn't? Schools drooling over Dawn, and covens from freaking everywhere wanting Paige to join them for this rite or that ritual. So, yeah, she was jealous sometimes, but she had never in a million years wished to have powers, or a calling. Now she was trapped in a life of death and she was dragging her whole family down with her.

Paige had come home from magic school one day after her calling with a look of pure horror on her face. She showed Buffy a book on mystical warriors and weapons. There was a chapter devoted to the Slayer, and it boiled down the lives of hundreds of girls into a series of gruesome deaths with no obvious point to them. In the end, she was just a body that hadn't dropped yet, and then someone else would be there, and she wouldn't matter.

The day Merrick told her what she was had changed her future from a high powered Hollywood agent, to how many things she could kill before one killed her. She hated him for it. He had shattered her world, threatened her family, and then he died because he refused to listen to her.

Buffy hated her calling as the Slayer, but she could deal with it, as long as she had her family to fall back on. She and her sisters held each other together when they couldn't do it themselves. But Merrick hadn't wanted her to tell them about being the Slayer. He wanted her to keep them in the dark about what was bothering her, why she got injured, why she was acting differently. That had lasted about 5 hours, until Paige's ability to read her to the point of nearly reading her mind outright kicked in and she was forced to spill the whole thing. Her mother had cried and her dad had been in denial about it until Dawn found a mention in one of her magic books. It took days for everyone to adjust, but they did. When you have 2 witches for daughters what's a Slayer added to the mix? It wasn't like demons and vampires and mages were alien concepts. Merrick had been livid when she admitted to telling. The Watchers Council apparently had rules about civilian involvement in slaying. He demanded that she leave her family and relocate with him to fight alone, as she was meant to. She had outright refused. He seemed to drop it, but a few days later he gave her a letter. It was a court order. If he so chose, he could remove her from her parents' custody and take her anywhere he wished. It was a threat to keep her in line from then on out. So she did as she was told and did the lone ranger thing, as far as he knew. Her sisters always watched her back, but from a distance.

She never told Merrick about her sisters. Every time she brought up using magic he refused to listen. He had an extreme prejudice against using it in the fight against evil. He though the only proper place for magic was in a controlled sterile atmosphere. Buffy didn't trust him with her sisters' secrets.

So with no magic and no backup, as he insisted, she went up against Lothos and his band of vampy followers. And with no magic and no backup, besides Pike, she killed him. But the price was high. Merrick had been killed. The gym had burned during homecoming. Pike had been sent off to military school. She had been expelled. Her parents had had to send her off to her granddad's house and tell people she was in a mental hospital to keep her from criminal charges.

It had been a bleak Christmas, getting ready to move. Her parents had bought a house in Sunnydale as a "surprise" for the girl and told them about it Christmas Eve. There was a school there that didn't mind Buffy's expulsion, and would let her take her midterms late so she wouldn't lose any credit. Her mom had found a storefront for her gallery and an office in the same building for her dad to open up his own architectural firm. They couldn't have been more pleased with themselves.

Paige and Dawn had been pissed, but accepting about it at first. Then they found out that they wouldn't be able to attend magic school anymore after they moved. Apparently the town was some kind of dark magical hot spot and the school couldn't get a door there and portkeys wouldn't work right there either. Paige had offered to use her beaming power (which her teachers insisted she call orbing now, but she refused on the grounds that no true Star Trek fan would EVER pass up calling such a cool ability beaming) to get them there, but they said that the dark magic would cling to them and they just didn't want it anywhere near the school. Thus the festering rage.

Buffy leaned forward on her knees and wiped away her tears. She was going to be mature about this. Yes her sisters were mad that they couldn't go to their school anymore, but she knew they didn't really blame her. Paige had threatened to blow the place up when they had basically kicked them out. She knew that she was a good witch and that even without further formal education she could get a mentor or a coven to keep teaching her and Dawn. Dawn knew that she could make new nerd friends at Sunnydale High. The situation was unfair, and frustrating, but they would calm down. Eventually.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:** Welcome to the Hellmouth: Part 1

* * *

Buffy woke suddenly from her dream as Dawn pounded on her bedroom door. "Buffy and Paige, get up. We have to be at school in exactly 1 hour. If we're late on our first day I will hex the both of you."

Buffy groaned and placed her pillow over her face. There was no point rushing to the bathroom. Paige would just beam herself in before she even got into the hall. After the grumble and the tell tale tinkling ended, she dragged herself out of bed and made it. She didn't enjoy cleaning up her stuff, but it was an easy task that let her think about her dream while the room was quiet.

Creepy church with candles, graveyard, cross…. slayer dream. Oh great, it was starting already.

She wrote down as much as she remembers before she made sure she had her and Paige's clothes laid out and their bags ready to go. When Paige beamed back in after her shower, Buffy handed her the paper and hurried to shower herself. Dawn hadn't been kidding about hexing them if they were late.

Paige looked at what Buffy had written and sighed. Of the three sisters, Buffy had definitely gotten the shit end of the magic stick. She stuffed the page into her journal and got dressed before heading downstairs. It was a familiar routine. While Paige was showering, Buffy made her bed and got their clothes and books. Then, while Buffy was showering Paige got dressed and made her bed. Then as Buffy came in she took their school things downstairs and grabbed their breakfast. After they ate Page would drive the girls to school, and they were never late. The only difference was that today their dad would be driving since Paige's car needed a new tire.

At breakfast Buffy was still a bit off her game due to her dream. Joyce noticed as she was bustling around and stopped to talk with her.

"Buffy, I know you're nervous about this new school after what happened."

Buffy shook her head "No, mom, its –"

Joyce continued, not hearing her daughter's words. "But, just remember, real friends won't judge you by past deeds. Besides, your family knows the truth, and we support you all the way."

Buffy teared up a bit and nodded at her mom before hugging her.

Joyce smiled a bit. "Now, speaking of that, have you decided on your patrol schedule yet?"

Now Buffy perked up completely. Her family had gotten on board with the Slayer gig 100 percent in the last few weeks. Paige had researched like a fiend and found out that demons and vamps were going to be drawn to where ever she went, and that the drive to slay would drive her insane if she tried to suppress it for too long. After a few long family talks it had been decided that Buffy had to patrol, but never alone. Paige was designated fieldtrip buddy and she would go out with Buffy each patrol. They would go by a preset route and start and end each patrol by going into a deserted area and beaming home, so they couldn't be followed. Dawn would handle the research end, since she was a wiz at languages and was better at the intense study angle.

The one thing that they really hadn't worked out was how to deal with the Watchers. On the one hand they had access and information that would be very useful. On the other hand they were manipulative bastards who felt it was their right to intimidate and threaten little girls into early graves. In the end they left it up to Buffy if or how she wanted to deal with them. At the moment Paige was acting as a defacto watcher, keeping a journal of Buffy's dreams and slaying activity.

"All set mom. Tonight we're planning a test run in one of the 5 million cemeteries in this town. I had a dream last night, so we may have something to deal with soon." Buffy looked at the clock on the microwave. "Where's dad? Dawn is going to have a stroke if we're late today. You'd think 5 minutes of class was affecting her grades or something."

"I am not that uptight Buffy." Dawn said with a roll of her eyes. She washed her bowl out and turned back to them with a smile. "Besides, I woke you and Paige up 10 minutes early."

Paige growled and threw a fruit loop at her youngest sister. Dawn just laughed and left the kitchen to grab her things.

By the time Hank dropped the girls at school they were all filled with a nervous excitement.

"Ok girls; don't forget to meet with the principal before school starts. Oh, and Paige, mom will drop off your car during her lunch. Do you have your keys with you?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. You girls enjoy your first day. And Buffy, please don't get kicked out of school for at least a month."

Buffy pouted. "Ok, dad, I'll try. But I really can't promise more than a week."

Hank grinned at her. "As long as you do your best dear."

All the girls giggled and Dawn kissed her dad on the cheek as they exited the vehicle.

As they reached the stairs dawn stopped to fix her pant leg. She was just straightening up when she was knocked to the ground by an older boy on a skateboard.

"Oh, wow, I'm SO sorry. I was distracted by – "

"My sisters. You were staring at them and not where you were going?" Dawn asked with a raised eyebrow and a half smile.

"Um, yeah, but I'm still really sorry…."

"Dawn. You can get up now."

The boy noticed that he was practically laying on the girl and flushed. He jumped up and reached out to help her up. "Right, sorry. I'm – "

"Xander, dude, what happened?" yelled another boy his age.

Xander turned to the newcomer. "Hey Jesse. I ran into the new genius in town."

Dawn frowned in confusion. "How did you – "

"Hey guys, looks like you've met."

They all turned and saw a familiar red head. "Hi Willow." greeted Dawn.

Willow Rosenburg was the girl that the guidance councilor, Mrs. Collins, had asked to help Dawn accustom herself to the school. She had also proctored Buffy's late midterms at the request of Principle Flutie, since he couldn't find a teacher willing to do it.

"Willow mentioned you, several times. I think she's a fan." Xander said, in response to Dawn's unfinished question.

"Well, I'm in the dark, so someone flip the switch for me." Jesse joked as he leaned into Xander and put a casual arm over his shoulder.

Dawn floundered and flushed slightly. Boys, cute boys, were talking to her. This was way out of her element. And where were her sisters. Oh, look, there they are, standing back and watching. Oh, and what a surprise, not helping. God she hated them.

"I'm, uh, Dawn Summers. My family just came from LA and we're going to school here. My sisters and I that is. I'm, um – "

She stopped. She never knew how to explain without sounding like a conceited bitch. Luckily Willow picked up the thread.

"She's amazing. She skipped ahead 3 years to be a freshman this year."

Jesse nodded in appreciation. "Nice."

Dawn smiled weakly. "Thanks. Um, I gotta go. Meeting with the Principal. Nice to meet you guys. See ya round."

Dawn scurried away and Jesse turned to his friends with a serious look. "So, are the sisters hot? Think I have a shot with them?"

Both Xander and Willow rolled their eyes and made their way into the school.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: ** Thanks so much for the reviews, and I'm glad so many people are reading this.

**Chapter 10

* * *

**

Paige was trying her hardest not to roll her eyes at her new principal. So far, to him, she was just a below average student with one brilliant sister and one intelligent and troubled sister. She was hoping to keep "attitude problem" out of his mind. Unfortunately her willpower was starting to fail her. So far Mr. Flutie had raved about Dawn's brains for 20 minutes. What was supposed to be a quick before school chat had already gone through homeroom and was starting into first period.

"Now, Dawn, do you think that you can thrive here? I know that socializing with older teens can be hard. We, at the school, want you to feel welcome."

Dawn was maintaining her 'business' personality at the moment. It was the face she showed adults and classmates in the mundane world. The face of a quiet studios girl who wouldn't dream of causing trouble. The face of an angel. It was something she had started long before she had learned about magic. People didn't take a happy bubbly little girl seriously in school. They expected the stereotype. She was giggly and extroverted, so she must be dim. She had been accused of cheating in first grade because she used words that were supposed to be beyond her grasp on her practice writing paper. So she had learned to pretend. At school, and now sometimes out in the world, she acted like the dour quiet girl who had no interests beyond study, and no time for anyone. She never felt the need to lie about herself at magic school. She wasn't the smartest person in school, not even the smartest person in her class, when it came to magic. She was normal there.

She nearly giggled when she saw Paige finally give in and roll her eyes.

"I'm sure I'll get along just fine here sir. I have my sisters. I don't really need anyone else."

"Yes, well, neither of your sisters are exactly examples to look up to now are they."

Dawn frowned. Flutie backtracked a bit and rephrased. "What I mean is that both of your sisters have things in their school records that can be frowned on. I'm sure you will learn from their mistakes, if nothing else."

"Of course." Was all she said.

Flutie cleared his throat and moved on. "Elizabeth, your exam results are exemplary. Especially since you missed the last chunk of your last term and Hemery. I'm impressed. Hopefully you can continue your high school career on that foot. I don't expect a repeat of the incident that brought you to us. I'm quite sure that another school would not look on you so kindly in that event."

Buffy just nodded. If he was looking for some kind of smart remark, he had the wrong sister.

Flutie looked at her for a moment, then shook his head and moved on. "Alyssa. Average grades, noted for sarcasm and defiance by several of your teachers. To be blunt, I'm surprised that your sister was responsible for the incident that caused your family to be uprooted. Be assured that we don't take smart mouths and nasty attitudes lightly here in Sunnydale. You may feel that you are somehow superior to the staff, but we will waste no time dissuading you of that. Are we clear?"

Paige fumed. So she rolled her eyes and talked back to her teachers. Buffy BURNED DOWN the gym. Sure there were mitigations, but this moron didn't know that. Ass. "Right."

There was a long tense silence before the principal released them to go to class.

By the time they left the office and got their stuff from their lockers first period only had about 20 minutes left in it, so the girls decided to just wait for second period to start. Flutie had forgotten to give them notes for their first period teachers anyway.

When the bell rang they went their separate ways. Paige was looking at her schedule when someone ran right in to her.

Xander sighed. "This keeps happening to me today. I'm so sorry." He looked up at her and stared a bit. "Wow, you're even hotter from the front."

"Excuse me?" Paige's eyebrows went up to her hairline. What the hell?

"Um, sorry, I saw you this morning before school. I ran into your sister, Dawn, on my skateboard."

Paige smirked slightly. "Are you usually accident prone, or is it just my family that does it to you? You gonna hit Buffy with a car later?"

Xander laughed a bit self consciously. "A bicycle maybe."

There was a long silence before Paige asked, "Do you know where this is?" She pointed to a room number on her schedule.

"Yeah, I'm on my way there. I'll show you."

Paige smiled at the boy as they headed to class.

* * *

Later Paige met up with Buffy in the hall between classes.

"Hey, did you get the books?"

"Crap," Paige whined, "I forgot. Why do I have to do it anyway?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Cause you are the one who has to pass the library on the way to and from your morning classes. Can you make sure you get them before lunch please? I may actually need to know what's going on in science class."

"Fine." Paige huffed as she walked off.

She was still muttering to herself as she entered the library a few moments later. Luckily she had a free period. She was absently fingering her necklace while she waited for the librarian to show up so she could get the books that she and Buffy needed. Dawn, of course, had gotten hers the day before.

"Hello, can I help you?" came a voice from behind her.

"Um, yeah. I need books, text books, for my sister and I. I have a list…." She fumbled through her bag and pulled out a sheet of paper that the school secretary had given her that morning.

The owner of the voice, an older middle aged British man, started moving before she could even give it to him. "I think I know what you need."

A moment later he thumped down a huge, decrepit tome titled VAMPYRE in front of her. She jumped slightly and looked confused for a moment before the light of understanding flitted in her eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"No, Miss Summers, this is deadly serious. I know – "

"No." She interrupted him. "There are two things wrong with that statement. One is that you know nothing. I assume you are a watcher right?"

The man nodded. "Your –"

"No, not my anything. You people have a lot of nerve showing up here and expecting to go back to the way things were. Merrick was a bully who threatened a teenage girl to get his way. Let me tell you, my parents were SERIOUSLY not amused when they found out what he had been telling their daughter. For you to just show up like this after everything my family has had to deal with because of you people, is just insane."

"Mr. Merrick was an exemplary watcher. He only had your best interests at heart. It's extremely dangerous for the slayer to have outsiders and amateurs at her back."

"What's extremely dangerous, is to send the slayer out alone, with only an old man to back her up. Merrick was stubborn and closed minded and it got him killed. Having a sister who can heal you, or your watcher, at your side doesn't add to danger. Having a witch at your back to cast shield spells and watch your six is not a distraction. It keeps you focused on the enemy you are facing. Merrick refused to see that, and that's why he's dead. Did you know that he could have been saved by a simple touch of the hand? That's all it would have taken. He was bitten, but he wasn't completely drained. His neck wasn't broken. He bled out on the ground because he refused to listen."

He seemed shocked for a moment and didn't answer right away. He had been told that this slayer had magic in her family, and that she had suggested that it be used to their advantage, but Travers had assured him that it would have made no difference in the fight. He had assured the council at large that is was minor magic at best and was in no way a consideration when dealing with the wayward girl. Obviously she felt much more strongly on the subject than anyone knew.

His thoughts were cut off when she spoke again. "By the way, the second problem with your statement was that you have the wrong Summers. My sister was devastated by what happened in LA. It ruined things for all of us and she feels responsible for that. I won't let you, or anyone else, bully her. She thinks she doesn't need you anymore. She has me and Dawn on her side."

He went to argue, but she cut him off. "She's wrong. I can heal smaller injuries and I can record her dreams and her kills and fights. Dawn can research demons and use wand magic. Together we can do rituals and wiccan ceremonies that can help with blessing weapons and protective wards. And, yes, I could have saved Merrick that night. If I had been there I could have patched him up a bit and teleported him to a hospital where they could have treated him. But there are things that we just can't do. We don't have the knowledge to train her in weapons or combat. We don't have access to information on obscure demons or prophecies. We do need a watcher. The key word there is WE. Buffy isn't in this alone, and she never will be again."

And with that she was gone, never noticing Xander gaping at her from the stacks.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I'm sure it's no surprise that I own none of this.

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Buffy took a deep breath before she marched into the library. At lunch Paige had spilled about her little confrontation with the new Watcher and Dawn had revealed the news that a body had been found in a locker in the girls locker room. Now she had to deal with a new watcher, slayer business and pick up the damned books that Paige forgot to get earlier.

"Mr. Giles!" she yelled at the seemingly empty room. "I need to talk to you. Oh, and I need the books my sister forgot."

She looked around. Still no one.

She turned to leave, only to find the librarian just inches from her.

"Yes, I do believe we need to talk."

"Don't DO that!" she yelled at him. "You could have given a normal person a heart attack. You know, my vay-dar doesn't work on people. You would think they taught that in watcher elementary, or wherever you people come from."

Mr. Giles looked at her with confusion. "Vay-dar?"

"Yeah, like Vader."

He stared at her oddly.

"Darth Vader? Star Wars? 'Luke, I am your father'?"

"Yes, I've heard of Star Wars thank you. I'm just surprised you have."

"What? Just cause I'm a cheerleader and like fashion I can't like sci-fi?

He sputtered for a moment before Buffy saved him.

"Oh, relax. My sister came up with it, if you're that interested in the etymology. That word, by the way, is mine."

"Of course."

She watched his reactions to her as she spoke. The Vader reference had caught him off guard a bit, but he didn't have a huge reaction to the dumb blond using big words. That was a good sign. It meant that he wasn't going to underestimate her.

"Ok, so the reason I'm here. First thing; I really need those books for my classes, and Paige's too."

"Yes of course. I have them ready for you. Your sister seemed to be in a hurry to get away after she read me the riot act. For something that I had no part in, might I add."

"Yeah, well, Paige is a little on the confrontational side. Not that I disagree with her. I just think she could stand to be a bit more diplomatic." She sorted her books from her sister's as she spoke, stuffing Paige's books into a tote she had folded up in her purse.

"Good, then we should set up a training schedule right away."

Now it was Buffy's turn to stop and stare. "Huh?"

Giles looked smug. He had seen this reaction coming. "You just said that you agreed with your sister. She made it clear to me that she has neither the training, or the resources, to help you in several areas. Therefore the assistance of a watcher is needed for you to deal with your calling."

"Really? Cause that sounds more like something Dawn would say."

"Well, the wording was my own, of course."

"Oh, well, damn."

Giles smiled a bit as Buffy moved to sit down at the table in the center of the room. "I understand your hesitancy Ms. Summers," he said as he joined her, "but I will do everything in my power to avoid a repeat of such an unfortunate incident."

"Even if it means breaking the cardinal "No outsiders" rule?"

"Yes, even that. You have shown great dedication through all of this. To be willing to continue to fight without the help of the council is something that most slayers could never do. In this case I shall bow to your judgment, but I'm still the watcher, and you still need to listen to me. I know far more about the occult and the demon world than you do. Not to mention the special hazards that living on an active Hellmouth bring."

"Excuse me!" Buffy yelled as she shot up out of her chair.

Giles, misinterpreting her reaction began to explain. "Miss Summers a hellmouth is – "

"My name is Buffy, and I know what a freaking hellmouth is. My sisters have spent the last couple years learning enough magic to blow up a solar system. This is the active hellmouth? I thought that was in some place like Africa."

"No, I'm afraid that whatever text your sisters seem to be learning from is incorrect. Somewhere in this town is the mouth of hell."

"Ok, well, dramatics aside, it doesn't change much. I still have to patrol and I still have to train. Oh, and I still have to deal with the dead guy in the locker room."

Giles cleaned his glasses for a moment while Buffy made herself comfortable again. After a pause he came to some sort of conclusion.

"Well, the dead man will have to be dealt with sooner than later, to make sure he doesn't rise. I can't get away so you'll have to go down to the morgue and take care of it."

"No way." Buffy said as she crossed her arms. "I'm not skipping out on my first day. I have a lot of work to do to keep these people off my back. I think I'll ask Paige to go. She knows the signs of a vamp attack and she can chop off the head of a dead body as easily as anyone else."

"I don't think sending – "

"I don't care. Paige can get out of school without being seen, I can't. The guy is dead at the moment, no threat."

"Well, what about this magic she is using? Magic can be addictive and – "

"And she knows that. Paige doesn't use Earth Magic that much because she has been taught restraint and control. The only magic she uses regularly is her natural abilities. She was born with them and they are a part of her. Even her spell work is well thought out and balanced with that rule about no personal gain. Dawn is the one you want to lecture about abuse of magic. Did you know that there are people out there who can't even function in a world without magic? Those stupid wands are a menace if you ask me."

"But wand wizardry does have rules and laws about underage magic."

"True, but self defense is acceptable. Plus they can't track Dawn's magic use here. Same reason they won't teach her or Paige at the magic school anymore. There is a darkness that they couldn't pinpoint. It's probably the Hellmouth. It was one of the things we looked into, but we dismissed it because it's supposed to be on another continent."

Giles nodded. "That does make a fair amount of sense. If your sisters are no longer going to magic school, how are they continuing their education? I assume that they are."

"Hmm?" Buffy answered distractedly. Paige has already gone to the morgue before she came in, she just hasn't told that to Giles. Now she was anxious for her sister to return. "Oh, yeah. One of their teachers, the guy who first contacted us, is apparating in to teach them on the weekends. It's a secret though. He's not supposed to come here, but he felt very strongly that he needed to keep teaching them. Oh and there is a teacher here at school that he knows who volunteered to help after school."

"Yes, well, it would be wise for you to impress upon your sisters that they should not trust other practitioners here. I can see very little good coming from too much time spent in this town. I personally plan at least two vacations a year, just to purge the darker essences and such."

"Yeah, sure." She answered, but she was worried about Paige, and not really paying attention.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12

* * *

**

Paige was a bit annoyed as she stepped out of the basement of Sunnydale High, and into the path, once again, of Xander Harris.

"Ok, I have seriously had enough of this." Xander muttered as he picked himself up off the floor. This time he had run into her at a full gallop and knocked them both to the ground with a thump.

"This is either the strangest attempt to get a girl's attention ever, or – "

"I think its fate actually. No matter where I go today, there you are. The hall, class, the library. No getting away." He smiled slightly as he helped her up. It was impossible to miss the look on her face when he mentioned the library. "Yeah, you didn't see me, but I was in the stacks when you were bitching out the librarian earlier."

Paige's mind raced. What was she supposed to do? How much did he hear? Should she call the Aurors? Technically she should if he heard her mention Dawn's wand, but it had only been in passing and she could probably play off that part since only wizarding magic was covered by the Magical Privacy Amendment. Did she really care? He wasn't freaking out so maybe he didn't actually hear anything. And if he did, again, he wasn't freaking out.

"How much did you hear?" she asked finally.

"Everything. Really good acoustics in there." He watched her eyes widen. "Ok, take a deep breath and calm down for a sec. You look like my friend Willow after 2 minutes babble without breathing."

Paige moved back a bit and slid down the wall until she was sitting on the cold floor. Xander stood and watched her for a second before he calmly sat down against the wall opposite her. He was supposed to be running errands for Mr. Williams, since he was his aide this period, but he was done really anyway.

"I'm sorry." He couldn't think of anything else to say really.

She laughed. "It's not your fault that I have a big mouth. I didn't even think before I started railing at Mr. Giles earlier." She looked up at him. "Why aren't you freaking out? Or calling me crazy?"

He shrugged a little. "Strangers don't usually share delusions. As far as freaking out goes, I think I might be in shock or something. I won't tell anyone or anything. I'm not really seeing a mental ward as a good place to spend time. Plus, I'm already really unpopular, I don't think my cred can take any more abuse."

"I know what you mean."

Xander looked her up and down. "I don't see it."

Paige laughed again and smiled at him. "I had boyfriends at my old school, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't really popular. I think half the people who knew me only knew me as "Buffy's sister". When I started studying magic I got to be the cool one for a while, but that's over for me and now I have to go back to being "Buffy's sister" all over again. I'm not saying I've really been there, but I do get what you mean."

"At least you're not "Willow's dumb friend". That one stings, let me tell you."

"You've met Dawn right? I'm the dumb sister. I am here anyway. The one thing I'm the best at, magic, and I got kicked out of school because they don't like my new address."

He searched for a response. "That Sucks."

"Yeah, it does, and now I'm the one who blabbed all of our secrets on the very first day of school."

"You don't have to be. I mean, I'm not gonna say anything to them about it. You don't have to tell them that I know anything. Plus I'm positive that nobody else was lurking back there, so no harm done."

"Really?"

He stood up and put out a hand to help her do the same. "Really."

He smiled at her brightly before making his way down the hall. She just stood there for a moment and stared at the spot where he had been sitting before. Wow, first day of school and so far she had been stared down by the principal, screeched like a harpy at the librarian, revealed their family's secrets examined a dead body for signs of a turning, and run into the cutest, sweetest boy ever. Not bad.

* * *

When school was finally over the sisters met up in the parking lot and piled in to Paige's car.

"How'd it go with the dead guy?" Dawn asked as she buckled up.

"Got a bathroom pass in 5th period and checked it out. Got in, stuck my fingers in a dead guy's mouth to check for blood – which was gross – and got out. Took a little longer than I expected, but I played the 'got lost' card and it was fine."

Buffy frowned. "Why'd it take so long?"

Paige shrugged. "Well, had to find the morgue for the first time. Plus I ran into someone in the hall on the way back to class. Second time today." She looked over her shoulder. "He mentioned that he hit you with his skateboard this morning."

Dawn burst out laughing. "Xander. He's cute, but not smooth at all. He was really nice about it though. I'm pretty sure he was staring at your asses going in the building at the time."

Paige smiled. "Really? Good."

Buffy huffed. "I thought I was the popular one? How did you get the meet cute and not me?"

Paige just grinned at her as she pulled out. "Lucky me."

They were making their way out of the parking lot when Dawn noticed a group of three walking away from the school. "That's him. He's with Willow and that guy they were with this morning."

Paige pulled up to them and put down Buffy's window to talk to them on the passenger side. "Hey."

"Hello." Said Jesse in an attempt at a cool voice.

Willow just waved shyly and Xander smiled at her. "Hey, no slapstick this time."

All three sisters laughed and Buffy offered them a ride home.

All three friends shook their heads, but Jesse was the only one who spoke. "Me and Xan live like a block away. Willow's just saying goodbye, cause she has an after school thing."

Paige shrugged and was about to pull away when Xander yelled, "Wait." and stuck his head in the window.

"Um, do you maybe wanna hit the Bronze with us later? It's a teen club in town, and like the only form of entertainment at all. I know it's a school night, but it's fairly tame and they aren't even open very late during the week."

Buffy smiled at him and did her best flirty voice. "We'll talk to our parents. Hopefully we'll see you there."

Paige nodded and Xander smiled broadly at her.

* * *

When they were back on their way Buffy resumed her earlier pouting, with Dawn joining this time.

Paige sighed. "What? I thought you'd be happy."

Dawn snorted. "I don't know what her problem is, but I just know that you guys will get to go out and I'll be stuck home alone tonight."

"Well, maybe, but you do get to patrol on weekends with us now. I mean, you're 12, what more do you want?"

"I guess." Dawn paused before leaning forward between the seats. "What IS your problem Buffy?"

"He didn't even look at me. He was practically on my lap and he didn't even know I was there. Cute boy was too busy staring at Paige."

Dawn squealed. "Paige won!!"

Buffy huffed. "He's a dork!"

"Doesn't matter, still counts. You owe Paige her choice of your shoe collection."

"But, that's so unfair! Who's idea was this bet anyway? "

Dawn gloated as she sat back in her seat. "Yours. You swore that you would be the first one to, quote, 'bag a hottie'. Well, you confirmed the cute and that he was in to Paige, so you pay up."

"But my shoes wouldn't fit her anyway."

Paige smiled. "They will fit Dawn though, and I worked out a side deal"

Dawn and Paige high fived and Buffy sighed. "I hate you both."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13

* * *

**

Buffy and Paige's room was a mess of cloths later that evening. Joyce was standing in the doorway watching the girls bicker about which outfit looks better on who.

"… and now I don't even have the shoes that match it." Buffy was still miffed that Dawn now owned one of her favorite pairs of chunky heeled boots.

Paige brushed her off. "You're just gonna buy a new pair next month anyway."

"Easy for you to say! You somehow turned a pair of shoes that you couldn't fit your fat feet in to, into a skirt that breaks half of dad's indecency rules when you wear it."

Joyce cut in. "It does not." Paige stuck her tongue out at her sister. "But it does come close." Her mother added.

After a few more minutes Joyce decided to join Dawn and Hank downstairs where they were setting up a movie. "Alright girls. You can stay at the club until ten, then patrol until midnight. Call when you leave the club and keep your phones on. I'll be waiting up for you, so don't be late."

"Yes mom." chorused the girls as she left.

* * *

Instead of driving to the club, driving home to cover their tracks, and beaming to somewhere to start patrol, Paige beamed them to an alley not far from their destination. It was close enough that they could claim to have parked in a better lit area and walked the rest of the way.

As they rounded a corner Buffy noticed something and leaned in on her sister's shoulder to whisper, "I think someone's following us."

Paige just nodded, not able to whisper as low and still be heard.

"I'm going to drop my bag and stop to pick it up. You keep going."

Again Paige nodded.

At the entrance to an alley, Buffy dropped her bag in a way that scattered the contents a bit into it's mouth.

"Crap." She sighed dramatically and waved her sister on. "I'll catch up."

"Ok, but hurry up."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You're the one meeting up with the cute boy. Go."

"Fine." Paige raised her hands in surrender and continued on.

Buffy picked up her things and then made a bit of a show of looking for her lip gloss. After a second she huffed and stepped into the darkness of the alley. Seconds later a figure followed. Once he was deep enough in not to be seen by anyone passing, Buffy jumped out and tackled him to the ground.

"Who the hell are you and why are you following me and my sister?"

The, kinda yummy, man chuckled slightly.

"I know what you're thinking, but don't worry, I don't bite."

Buffy was a bit mollified, so she backed off. She maintained her ready stance though, just in case. She was trying to come up with a witty response when he stood up and smiled at her.

"Truth is, I was expecting you to be taller. Or at least bigger muscles. You are pretty spry though." He rolled his neck in discomfort.

"Why do people always lead with the short jokes? I'm 5'3, not 4'9! What do you want?"

"I know who you are, and I know why you're here."

"Aren't we brilliant. Teen aged girl on her way into a club. Real brain teaser, that."

"Don't be distracted from your calling. You have to be ready." He tossed a small box at her and made to leave the alley.

As she caught the box she tilted her head in curiosity. "Ready for what?"

"The Harvest."

And then he was gone.

Buffy waited a beat before she opened the box. Inside was a large, slightly gaudy, cross necklace.

"Oh for god's sake." She huffed as she nearly stomped her way to the entrance of The Bronze.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14

* * *

**

As she stood in the bustling club, looking for either her sister or the three teens that they were meant to meet up with, she fingered the pendant on her necklace.

The necklace was a gift from her Aunt Anne. It was given to her on her 10th birthday, as its duplicates were given to her sisters on theirs. It was a simple 22 inch gold chain with a Carolingian cross set in a circle. It was special because the triquetras that made up the cross represented trinity, like them, and none of them had ever taken theirs off. Now that they dealt with vampires it seemed especially appropriate.

After a bit of a search she noticed Willow sitting at the bar.

"Hi." She said to the shy redhead as she took a seat next to her.

Willow looked up, startled. "Oh, hi. You actually came."

"Yeah," Buffy said with a hint of confusion, "you were expecting us."

"Oh, well, I didn't expect you to show up. Well, I mean, to hang out with me, us. I saw Xander wander off somewhere with your sister a couple minutes ago."

Buffy noticed a kind of sad look on Willow's face. "You two aren't together are you?"

"Oh, no. We were, but I broke up with him. He stole my Barbie and I just couldn't get past it."

Buffy stared at her.

"Well, we were 5. It was a huge deal back then. I don't really date much, or at all lately."

Buffy ordered a soda as the bartender passed. "Why not?"

"Well, when I'm around a guy I like I can't seem to form intelligent, or coherent, words. It's mostly odd consonants and sometimes a grunt."

"I'm sure it's not THAT bad." Buffy said, trying to comfort her.

"Yeah, it is. I think that I may be able to get through full sentences by college. I bet you don't have that problem. You're so cool, and witty, and gorgeous. "

Buffy just laughed, deciding not to answer.

"Why are you here? I mean, you would have ended up at The Bronze anyway, cause this is the only place to go, but why are you here talking to me, or here meeting up with us? I would have thought Cordelia would have warned you off already."

Buffy frowned a bit. "She did. Gotta say, not really interested in what she thinks though."

"You should. Cause she is the most popular girl in school, and what she thinks is what matters, if you want to be popular."

"Before we moved from LA… It's like we were all… Ok, we each had this role, and we were used to that role, and we were good at them and that was fine. But now… New place, new people, new roles. I don't want to be that girl. That vapid, mean, bitchy, shallow girl. So I'm not gonna."

Buffy smiled when Willow didn't seem to get it.

"Just live in the moment is all I'm saying. In this moment, I couldn't care less about Cordelia and her minions. My dad always says "Just go fishing". Well, if you wanna go fishing, just go fishing."

Willow raised her eyebrows and Buffy laughed. "I know it doesn't really make sense, but he's weird like that. It really means "Carpe Diem", sort of an inside joke. Just "sieze the day", cause it may be the last one you get."

Willow nodded. "Seize the day."

Buffy caught a glint of something from the corner of her eye and looked around. She saw Giles making his way up to the balcony.

"I'll be right back." She said as she stood.

"Oh, ok." Willow said, rather defeated.

Buffy smiled at her. "I'll be right back."

When she got to the top of the stairs she saw Xander standing against the railing looking over to where Paige was talking quietly with Giles. She walked over to them and saw that Paige was handing him the journal she had been using to track Buffy's slaying and dreams.

"No dear," Giles was saying, "You continue your journal and I will keep a separate one for the Council. Yours can be the… raw version, as it were. There are things we will be keeping to ourselves and I would rather not like to have to keep two journals myself. Less chance of confusion that way."

Paige nodded and hid the small book inside her jacket before beaming it back to her desk at home.

Buffy came up from behind her sister and rested her chin on her shoulder. "What's up?"

Paige shrugged and turned to face her. "Nothing much. What happened outside?"

Buffy made a face. "I got the drop on the guy. He was cute, but a bit creepy and cryptic. Reminded me of a Watcher, but he was young and American. Anyway, he said something about being ready for "the harvest", which he didn't explain, and then he tossed this at me." She handed the small box to Giles. "The weird thing is, that cross was in my dream last night. So it has to be connected to this harvest thing."

Giles pocketed the cross and nodded. "Yes, yes. I'll begin researching right away. I much prefer the quiet and books to this…. Environment anyway. Enjoy your evening, and please be careful on your patrol."

Both girls nodded as Giles made his way out of the club. They stood together for a moment in companionable silence before Paige excused herself to go speak with Xander.

Buffy watched them for a moment. She envied Paige a bit. Since becoming the Slayer she hadn't had a whole lot of luck with guys. Pike had been nice, but in the end he craved the excitement more than he cared about her. Although, she had really been tempted to run off with him that night.

She sighted and let her gaze wander from her sister to the dance floor below her. She was surprised to see Willow dancing with a guy. After a second glance she frowned. The way he was dressed, the tingle in the back of her head. Shit! Vampire.

She quickly cut her way through the throng and down the stairs to the main floor. Unfortunately, by the time she got there they were gone. She was about to go check outside when Paige grabbed her.

"Buffy, have you seen Xander's friend Jesse?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, I'm looking for Willow. She was with a guy. She was dancing and now they're gone." She looked at her sister, trying to communicate her worry without alerting Xander.

He, however, saw the look and started to freak. "Willow got nabbed by a vampire too. Oh my god! What do we do?"

Buffy quirked her head slightly. There were so many questions she could have about that statement. She pounced on the one that seemed the most urgent. "Too?"

Paige nodded apprehensively. "Yeah, Jesse was talking to this blonde girl. Didn't seem right. I was gonna ask you about her, but then they were gone."

Buffy thought for a second. "Ok, you go look for Jesse and I'll look for Willow. You saw Jesse and the girl and I saw Willow and the guy, so we each know what to look for. I'll circle the building, you head into the closest graveyard. That's where they tend to hang out. I'll meet you over there."

Paige nodded, grabbed Xander's arm and yanked him behind a dumpster, where she quickly beamed them to the Tranquil Gardens cemetery nearby.

Xander was disoriented when they arrived. "Oh, man, that was not as fun as one would think."

Paige grinned slightly. "You'll get used to it."

Xander grinned back before sobering quickly. "Where do we start?"

Paige made a vague gesture. "Just, try to look casual and keep your eyes peeled. Don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves. I don't want to be a snack either."

They walked briskly through the cemetery, looking around as they went. After a few minutes they finally came across Jesse and his "date".

"You are so pretty." Jesse was saying. "I can't believe someone as pretty as you would really be interested in me."

The blonde vamp smiled coyly. "Aren't you the sweetest thing ever."

Suddenly a pair of teenagers was running directly at them. Xander and Paige made a bee line for Jesse and grabbed hold of him. The vampire was so startled that she didn't move right away. This gave them time to yank him behind a tree and beam out, without her ever seeing their faces, and without her seeing the blue and white lights.

* * *

By the time the vampire reached the entrance to her underground home, she was pissed. The boy had gotten away and she had no idea how to explain that to her master. As she stepped into the crypt wher the tunnel entrance was hidden she was knocked to the ground by one of her fellow vampires, as he was being tossed from one end of the enclosure to the other.

"Ok", she yelled in exasperation, "What the HELL is going on tonight?"

The short blonde girl across the room smirked. "Let me guess, you got mugged on your way home with dinner tonight. Too bad, everyone should get a last meal."

As the girl moved to engage her, Darla turned and grabbed the fallen vampire behind her, and tossed him back at her. As the girl grappled with the dead weight, Darla slipped through the tunnel entrance and down to her waiting master. She may have lost the boy, but the Master would be interested to know that the Slayer was in town. Maybe even interested enough not to punish her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15

* * *

**

Buffy was unsure of exactly where to take the dazed and freaked out Willow after she staked her new boyfriend. After walking out of the graveyard and onto the street she decided that Paige would have a better idea of what to do, and she suspected that she had a slightly freaked teen on her hands as well. She would have said two, but Xander seemed pretty relaxed about the whole thing. Well, not the part where his friends were going to be dinner, but he was ok with the vampire part. And, oh, she was gonna have questions about that.

Once she was convinced that they were fairly safe, Buffy pulled her cell phone out and dialed her sister.

/Hello/

"Hey, I assume you found Jesse. A blonde vamp was all wiggy and pissed when I ran into her."

/Yeah, bag and beam. I think she was so surprised that she didn't even see us./

Buffy had to forcibly keep from grinning. That was a technique they had worked out together. She didn't have time to get all giggly about it though.

"Good. I got Willow too. She's a bit… upset. Do you want to come get us and maybe find some place to talk?"

/Yeah, we're outside The Bronze right now and Jesse isn't taking things that well either. Where do you wanna go?/

Buffy though for a moment. "No idea. Just get them over here and we can figure it out together."

She gave her the street corner and the major features, to jog her memory of the place, and waited for acknowledgment.

/Ok, be there in 5./

"K, bye."

After she hung up, Buffy gently pulled Willow aside and waited. Sure enough, about five seconds later, a sparkle of blue and white lights heralded the arrival of the others. Unfortunately this caused Willow to babble even more. The good thing was that Xander knew how to deal with her and took care of it with a hand over her mouth. Once she was a bit calmer he turned to the sisters, who were watching them uncomfortably, and smiled at them.

"We might want to move out of the street soon. I don't feel too safe, and someone has to explain or these two will lose their minds."

Buffy sighed and raised an eyebrow at Paige. "Well?"

Paige snapped her fingers a few times before shrugging and pulling out her phone. When the person on the other end of the line picked up she asked without preamble, "What should we do with the very curious and persistent people we rescued tonight?"

After a pause she smiled. "Cool, be there soon."

A moment later, the teens joined hands and disappeared into the night.

* * *

"The library? Why?", asked Xander as he got his bearings again.

"Oh," said Paige, "just leaving a note for Giles about what happened."

She was already scratching pen over paper.

"Ah," came a familiar voice, "no need, Miss Summers, I'm here."

The group turned as one and stared at him. He just stood there for a moment, before rubbing his forehead and letting out an exasperated breath. "Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

Buffy stepped forward. "Um, yeah. We fought some vamps in the cemetery. They were trying to take the victims with them, which was odd. Usually they just eat and run. One of them disappeared down some hidden tunnel in the crypt we were fighting in. Oh, and now we're gonna explain things to Xander's friends, who were the victims I mentioned before."

"Now, well, that is, I don't think – " he sputtered. What could these silly girls be thinking? It was one thing to involve people who could help, and who's lives would, and had, been directly affected by her calling. But random teenagers? Really, that was too much.

Jesse spoke up, finally. "I don't think she was asking. And I'm gonna get some kind of answer, one way or another."

Willow nodded mutely.

Buffy sighed. "Not my idea of fun either Giles, but in this case, it can't be avoided. Just, look, mom is expecting us, so…"

He pulled off his glasses and started cleaning them with the handkerchief he had in his pocket. "Your mother knows what you are planning?"

"Yeah" answered Paige with a definite 'duh' undercurrent, "our parents know almost everything we do. Plus they're extra special anal about patrols and stuff. We're taking them to our house to talk and then I'm driving them home, since I left my car at home tonight."

Giles just nodded. There wasn't really anything else he COULD do. The idea of saying 'Oh no, don't obey your parents' didn't exactly sit well.

A moment later Paige was handing him a post-it note with their address and general directions to their house.

"I can only take 4 passengers at a time. I'm not sure if it's a limitation of my power, or if I just need to practice and work my way up to more, but since I've never needed to…" She trailed off, slightly embarrassed to be admitting a limit to her abilities.

Giles just cleared his throat and smiled at her. "Quite alright. I found a few things that we need to discuss as well. I'll gather my research and meet you there. I'm sure your parents would appreciate a meeting of some kind before we go forward. I do believe Merrick made a less than pleasant impression on them.

In a moment the teens were gone and Giles was reaching into his desk drawer for his bottle of scotch. This evening called for a drink.

* * *

By the time Giles had collected himself and made his way to the Summers home, the basic explanations had been made and the group was sitting around the dining room table with hot chocolate.

After a hushed and slightly heated discussion with Hank and Joyce Summers about who, exactly, decided what about Buffy's duties and safety, he joined the children. Hank and Joyce retired to the living room and kitchen, deciding that details would only upset them, and wouldn't change what needed to be done.

Dawn and Paige were discussing some of their magical knowledge when he joined them. Buffy and Jesse were talking about television and Willow and Xander were flitting back and forth between the two groups.

Giles cleared his throat to get their attention. "I have some information about the Harvest. If anyone is interested."

All eyes turned to him, expectantly. He was a bit unnerved by that. "Well, yes, it appears as though the Harvest is a ritual meant to free a master vampire from his imprisonment in a church that sank underground about 60 years ago."

"Huh." said the sisters, while the others just stared.

"And this is happening , like, now, right?" asked Dawn after a moment.

"Tomorrow night, actually. One of the Master's minions will be marked as the Vessel and they will feed off of 10 victims, transferring that energy to him. Then he will be able to break free of the mystical prison."

Dawn looked pensive before she stood suddenly. "I think I might have something that will help." Then she ran up the stairs.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: **I wrote this long ago and forgot to post it. Good news is.... I'm writing again. Don't know how long it will take to get back into the groove, but I'm tryin'.

* * *

**Chapter 16**

What Dawn brought down with her just moments later was not what anyone, other than her sister, expected.

"That's a book." Jesse pointed out helpfully.

Dawn rolled her eyes and dropped the tome on the dining room table with a thunk. "No really?"

Giles read the title on the cover and paled a bit. "Where on earth did you get that? The council doesn't even have a copy."

Dawn just shrugged. "Found it in one of the book stores on Rowan Drive in LA." She flipped the book open to where a stick seemed to be acting as a book mark. "The point is that this is the most complete book of vampire history. I'm not the magical prodigy of the family, but I am the book nerd and I read a lot. I was reading this last night before bed and I got to the Order of Aurelius and the Master."

She turned the book so that everyone could see the picture. "He is so not a pretty one, but he is powerful."

"Why does he look like that?" Xander asked as Willow touched the picture and Jesse picked up the stick and started twirling it.

Giles answered, "As vampires age through many centuries, their human facades can fade away, leaving only the demon. Whether it happens or not really depends on which of their two faces they display most of the time. And as fascinating as this is, I'm failing to see how a 75 year old book is going to help us find a vampire that has been trapped for only 60 years."

Dawn bounced on the balls of her feet slightly. "It's the picture. What does the caption say?"

Xander read aloud. "Joseph Arden Vardesh, turned 1311, age 42."

Giles shook his head. "I still – "

Paige sat up and pulled the book to her. She cut across Giles with a laugh. "A focus. A picture and a true name are enough for about 5 different locator and tracking spells."

"Exactly," Dawn crowed, "That's why so many dark wizards, vampires, demons, and knowledgeable used car salesmen use nicknames and aliases."

Willow frowned. "Then why is his name in a book?"

Dawn just shrugged. "Lots of reasons. People knew him when he was alive. Maybe there were stories in his hometown, maybe a priest wrote about him in letters, maybe there is a living portrait of his great uncle Bob somewhere."

Buffy yawned and looked at the clock, 12:17. "Can you do the stalker charm before we call it a night?"

"Sure." Dawn said cheerily. She loved being the one with the answers. Paige was much better at magic than her; she could do so many more complex and interesting things. Dawn, however, had the free and easy magic that came from using a wand. Paige was restricted by personal gain and consequences, while she was not.

"Stalker spell?" Jesse asked, engaging for the first time in a while.

"Well, my friend Erica taught it to me. She uses it in LA to find, like, movie stars and stuff. She likes playing paparazzi. All I need is a couple of sheets of paper and a map and we're good to go."

"If there are 5 different spells, then why this one in particular?" Willow asked curiously.

Paige answered as she reentered the room with the supplies Dawn needed. "One way would need the picture and a scrying crystal, one would need a scrying crystal and a personal item or blood. Those two I could have done. The other three are Dawn's kind of magic and one of those would need her to come with us to channel the magic constantly and another is basically the same as what we are doing, just using a sample of blood, skin or hair. There are other ways to find people, or even figure out who people are, but they are way more advanced than we can handle at the moment."

Buffy took over at this point. "And since we don't have a crystal or blood or a personal item we are doing this one, because there is no way in hell I'm taking an 11 year old into an underground vampire nest."

"No you're not, and you should watch your tongue little girl." Came the voice of Hank Summers from the doorway. "You've only been 16 for a week and already you think you're grown."

Dawn ignored the byplay and continued setting up her supplies, which mostly consisted of unfolding the map and snatching her wand from a startled Jesse.

Buffy smiled apologetically at her dad before he turned and addressed the strangers in his home. "I know it's past all of your curfews. Do your parents know where you are?"

Jesse snorted, causing both Willow and Xander to give him dirty looks. "What?" he said defensively. "I'm probably gonna be grounded, but nobody even knows the two of you aren't home."

Hank raised an eyebrow and motioned for further explanation. Xander was looking at the floor and Willow punched Jesse in the shoulder before speaking on her own behalf. "My parents only spend about 8 weeks a year at home. I mostly take care of myself. They deposit money in a joint account and I use it to pay bills and buy groceries."

"So you live alone?" Hank asked, horrified.

Willow looked uncomfortable and answered very quietly. "Um, not exactly. Xander has been staying with me for about 4 months. Except when my parents came for the weekend, before Hanukkah, then he stayed at Jesse's."

The room was silent as everyone stared at Willow and Xander. Finally Hank cleared his throat. "I… don't know how to respond to that right now, so here is what we are going to do. Paige take Jesse home. Then take Xander and Willow to pack up enough things for a few days and bring them back here. We will talk about all of this after school tomorrow. It's extremely late. Dawn, do the spell and go to bed. Willow will be sleeping on the daybed in your room. Xander will get the couch. If there is anyone still up in an hour you'll be cooking dinner for a month. Goodnight."

And then he was gone and the children were stunned silent.

* * *

The next day brought an unspoken agreement between all of the kids that they wouldn't deal with the weird personal crap until after the weird supernatural crap was dealt with.

They stuck with their original groups and mostly avoided the other. Except Paige and Xander who seemed to find themselves alone together several times throughout the day. The two never discussed anything important, but they enjoyed the time together.

Jesse spent a lot of the day trying to convince Willow and Xander to stay away from the Summers' and just forget the night before. This was difficult for a lot of reasons, two being that they were pissed at Jesse for opening his mouth in the first place and that it didn't seem likely that the Summers family would just let it go. This was extremely frustrating to all of the three friends and Willow and Xander weren't on speaking terms with their old friend by the time he stormed home after school.

And so it was that Xander and Willow were the only ones to join the sisters in the library after school.

* * *

"So what's the plan?" Paige asked as she dropped into the chair closest to Xander at the table where they all sat.

Buffy sat forward a bit and rested her chin on her hand. She didn't think anyone was going to like her plan much, but she had mulled it over all day and discussed it a bit with Giles and this was the best option for the moment.

"I think we should stop the Harvest and destroy the Vessel tonight, and gather a hell of a lot more intel before we go after the Master himself."

Giles broke through the shouting and arguing that followed by dropping a heavy book on the table. "Buffy is correct. We know where the Master is confined, but nothing else. We don't know how large his nest is, how many guards he keeps with him. We don't know how strong he is. We don't even know if he employs other demons or magic. Wandering the sewers around his prison blindly looking for an entrance will only get people killed."

After a short silence Dawn sighed. "OK, so how do we find the Vessel? I assume it's one of the older vamps with him. One that he trusts. That probably means smarter and harder to find."

"Well," Buffy answered, "The ritual is sort of time sensitive. To get the power he needs, the Vessel must be marked magically and then feed on ten people, all within the hours between moonrise and midnight. The marking takes a bit of time, so I'm betting that they will choose a place that is fairly crowded and get all of the sacrifices in quick succession."

"The Bronze." Xander stated, matter of factly. "It's the only place open that late where there will be a lot of people, especially since it's a Friday night."

Willow nodded. "If he wanted to be quiet about it, the bigger the crowd, the less likely people are to notice a small group going missing."

Paige frowned. "And if he sends the Vessel with a group of vampires to cover his or her ass…"

"Then there are plenty of extra bodys for the group to play with while he or she gets their ten. And probably plenty left over to take home for later." Buffy finished.

"Quite." Giles added with a grim expression.

After a long beat Xander clapped his hands together. "So, Bronzing it tonight?" He looked at Willow, Buffy and Paige in turn.

All three nodded.

Dawn sighed. "Fine. So you four case the Bronze tonight and I'll hang here with Giles, in case you need backup."

Willow frowned. "Why not just come with?"

"Cause I'm way too young to get in and Giles would stick out like a sore thumb."

"Yeah, spotted him in a flash last night." Paige agreed.

Dawn nodded. "So if we are both here, together, Paige will be able to beam in and grab us if we are needed."

"So what do we do till then?" Xander asked.

Paige tossed her car keys at Buffy. "You could all go back to our house while Dawn and I have our magic lesson."

Buffy, Xander and Willow looked at each other hesitantly.

"Or," Giles suggested, seeing their reluctance, "Xander and Willow could join Buffy in some training. That way they will be less likely to be killed this evening."

"Oh!" Willow chirped, much too brightly. "That sounds of the good. Definitely."

Buffy rolled her eyes as she tossed her sister back her keys. "Our parents don't bite you know. I would think you would be more scared of the vampires."

"We're not scared of them… exactly." Xander said unhappily.

"It's just that we're…" Willow trailed off, not sure how to express how she felt without upsetting anyone.

"It's just that we just met you guys yesterday. In one day most of our world has changed, our best friend has turned into a brat, Will was almost eaten… And now your parents might try and mess with everything else. They don't even know us. Willow is perfectly happy with the way things are. Ok, not PERFECTLY happy, but her relationship with her parents is what it is and she dealt with it a long time ago. Yes, 15 is too young to be on your own, but Mrs. Lynn next door comes over every day and cooks her dinner and cleans, and she makes sure that she isn't having parties or anything. They trust her to not have a curfew and handle things when they aren't home. She shouldn't have to explain herself to strangers."

The group was thoughtful for a few moments, none of them commenting on Xander leaving his situation out. They didn't know why he had been staying with Willow, and none of them felt it was the time to ask.

The silence was broken by a new person entering the library. She was startled when six heads snapped to look at her. She hadn't been expecting so many people to be here.

"Girls," she asked with a bit of trepidation, "are you ready for your tutoring session?"

She flicked her eyes over the other occupants of the room. She recognized them all of course, but she wasn't exactly sure why they were there. Well, she could easily guess why Mr. Giles was THERE, he was the librarian, but she didn't know why they were all there together.

"Hi Miss Calendar." Dawn said with a cheery wave. Jenny really liked the enthusiastic girl. She was sweet and intense and charming.

Paige smiled at her and motioned her over to where they were sitting. "Everyone knows why you are here, so we can just get started."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17

* * *

**

By the time they left for the Bronze that night the whole gang was fairly tingling with nerves. The afternoon had been filled with training of one kind or another for all of them and the fun filled conversation with the Summers parents.

The end result of said conversation was that Willow would be returning to her home and would not be interfered with, for now. She was invited to spend as much time as she wanted with the family, and she seemed happy with that. Joyce and Hank didn't really like the situation, but felt that there wasn't a whole lot that could do about it. Joyce had spoken with a harried social worker about the Rosenburgs, and was basically told that there had been earlier inquiries, but nothing had ever come of it. It was insane, but the family was starting to see that Sunnydale was in its own little bubble, and the rules and laws of the rest of the world were only vaguely important there.

Xander's situation was a totally different story. There was no way that he could continue the way he was. He refused to talk about his parents at all. He refused to talk to his parents, at all. The only thing they could get out of him was that leaving home was not his choice and that going back wasn't an option. They considered having him stay with them, but one look at the way he and Paige interacted…. That was a bad idea. Hank finally said that he should stay on the couch until they came up with a permanent idea. That pretty much settled it.

Now all they had to do was survive the night.

* * *

The four teens entered The Bronze in pairs. Buffy dragged Xander with her to the second floor while Paige and Willow made their way around the dance floor and to the stage, where the band was setting up. Both teams were looking for good vantage points for the whole club, and good lines of sight for each other.

"Stop pouting Xander." Buffy swatted him on the arm to get his attention. He had been staring down at Paige instead of looking for vampires.

Xander turned to her and gave her a bit of a smile. "I don't pout. I was just showing my disappointment in a visual way."

Buffy rolled her eyes and maneuvered her friend so he was looking in a different direction. "I separated you two so that you could concentrate on the task at hand. Less ogling, more saving the day."

They continued the back and forth banter, trying to keep things upbeat, but things got strained as the minutes continued to tick by. They were so wound up that the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them caused Xander to nearly jump out of his skin and Buffy to nearly clobber the brunette. Luckily she managed not to give any visual hints to her inner reflex.

"What the hell Cordelia? You nearly gave us strokes."

"Well, excuse me for breathing. It's not my fault you two are lost in your own little world over here. I just wanted to know what on earth made you want to get lost in the eyes of dork boy."

Buffy snorted. "Yeah, no, I don't poach from my sister. She's scary."

Cordy's brows crinkled with confusion. "Huh? Isn't your sister 11?"

Buffy shook her head. "Other sister, older." She turned and pointed to where Paige and Willow were talking to one of their classmates. A rather geeky looking guy with dark hair.

"Oh, well, looks like she goes for even dorkier guys than you Xander."

Xander frowned slightly and looked where Buffy was still pointing. "Never thought I'd be competing with Jonathan for a girl"

Buffy giggled. "Unless he introduced himself by knocking her unconscious, I don't think he can out do you."

"What – you know what?" Cordelia shook her head quickly, "I don't care. What I came over here to say was that I want you , Buffy, not dork boy, to try out for one of the two open spots we have on the cheerleading team. A couple of Juniors just disappeared a week ago. I know that a bunch of losers drop out every year, but these were popular girls. Almost as popular as me. This is way beneath them. Anyway, tryouts are in 2 weeks. There's this stupid rule that they can't be replaced for at least 3 weeks. As if they're coming back. Nobody ever does."

Buffy frowned at the way people around here just blithely accepted people just going poof in the night. After a beat she shrugged, she was planning on trying out for next year anyway. "Sure, why not. I kinda miss the workout anyway."

The brunette smiled. "Great", her face turned serious, "But you really need to rethink who you hang out with. You can be forgiven a bit, since you HAVE to spend time with your sisters, but this," she gestured between Buffy and Xander, "Just won't do."

With that she spun on her heel and left.

"And you like her because…." Xander asked after a beat.

"I don't know, she's fun to listen to. She reminds me of most of my friends from Hemery, except more honest in her insults."

"Yeah, that makes it so much better."

"Hey, speaking of pissy, bitchy friends, what's up with Jessie?"

Xander frowned. "I have no idea. He's been –"

Buffy cut him off abruptly. "Ok, we'll talk about it later. Bad guys are here."

Xander followed her line of sight and saw a large group of people entering through the back of the club. The last one through the door stayed right in front of it, grinning nastily. He turned and looked as close to the front entrance as he could see. Another group was coming in there, and he was willing to bet that they were guarding that exit too. A quick call from the girls, who were positioned to watch the front door more clearly, confirmed that there were two burly vamps blocking the entrance.

Paige and Willow disappeared into the crown. Willow making her way to the back room and Paige finding a good place to beam from. Buffy made her way down to the area near the stage and Xander stayed in the balcony to watch the back door. The Vessel was identified quickly. Mostly because he jumped up on stage and ordered the minions to bring him offerings. Not real subtle.

A moment later and the power died. That was Willow. She flipped the main breaker to distract everyone and cause a bit of a panic. Buffy used this opportunity to jump on the stage and confront Mr. Vessel Dude. As the two of them fought, Paige beamed to the back entrance and staked the vamp guarding it before he even knew she was there. After that she started herding freaked out teenagers out the door. With everyone running out it was hard to tell who were innocent bystanders and who were vamps. She made a quick decision and beamed over to the library.

"Quick. Is there any way to weed the vamps from the kids as they all run out?"

Giles shook his head. "Nothing mundane. You would know more about magical solutions."

Paige blew a breath out of the side of her mouth. "Yeah, ok, so I need Dawn. Let's go."

Seconds later all three of them appeared in the alley. "Giles, herd people, we need to concentrate for a second."

The two sisters conferred momentarily and then they held hands as Dawn waved her wand and muttered "lumo solara" under her breath. Instantly the alley was filled with light. The vampires that were streaming out with the crowd screamed and scurried off into sewers, leaving the humans to run home a bit more safely. The light lasted about a minute before it died out, needing to be recast, but by then Buffy, Willow and Xander had emptied the club of people, and it was no longer needed.

Dawn gave a sigh of relief at the sight of her smiling sister and reached for her cell phone.

"Hey mom? We're on our way home now."


End file.
